Mercenary's Payment

by MachineryField

Summary:

Vandham is hired to escort a mysterious group and some salvagers through an abandoned ship.

Pyra waits in her memories of Elysium for someone, anyone, to appear.

Notes:

A little oneshot of an idea that has bounced around my head for quite a long time now. Dunno if it'll ever go past a oneshot, but maybe if it's liked, I'll think about expanding it some?

Chapter 1

Vandham had been at this for years at this point. Getting jobs, going out and doing said jobs… He’d gotten good at this point, figuring out when a client can be trusted or not. When that Malos showed up, his blade following after, he knew right away this can’t be trusted.

The money may be good, but was it worth it? The feeling in his gut said no, and yet he agreed to take on the job himself. They only wanted a few mercs, Malos said. It would be a simple job and then they could go home.

Vandham had to go, he decided then and there. Whatever gave him this bad feeling, he was more worried for the salvagers Malos mentioned he was hiring. Salvagers could fight, sure, but they wouldn’t be anything next to mercenaries…

If he and a few of his best went, they could keep them safe from whatever Malos was planning, he decided. Better than just letting him run rampant and hurt people who couldn’t stand up for themselves.

He left Yew and Zuo behind with a note, one he hoped wasn’t needed but might be. He could die at any moment, and if he did, he wanted the group to keep running. He knew he could trust the two of them, after all…

And so off he went, told to look around Argentum while Malos and the others he’d been introduced to get the rest set up. He didn’t leave the ship for the job, though. Instead, he studied it, looked for any clues of what was to happen.

Just what was Malos hiding…?

--

Vandham was already taking a shine to both Rex and Nia, both of them reminding him a bit of his own son… Thinking about little Gamil made his heart hurt. But that’s why he left behind that life, why he threw away the name Aquila as he did. The world of politics and assassinations had taken too much for him to not.

Being a mercenary was better than that, at least then people were upfront about their feelings. They fought their war loudly and proudly, and the backstabbing came a little less often. Of course, this job may change his thoughts, but that had yet to be seen.

“The Leftherian boy and the big mercenary.” Malos’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “You come with us, try and keep up.”

Vandham didn’t have to be told twice, he and Roc shared a look and nodded, following after. It was Malos, Nia, Jin, and Rex going along. Into a dark ship that had been long forgotten by time. Something about it felt wrong, like it was supposed to be left sleeping…

But he wasn’t paid to have those opinions, and he was sure Malos would be sure to remind him of that if he tried to voice them. And so he followed along, fighting off the beasts that attacked. The sooner they could find what the men wanted, the sooner they could all go home.

When they came to a door only Rex could open, however, he started to feel like going home wasn’t gonna be an option.

--

Malos’s warning to not touch the sword as Rex reached out made Vandham move before he could even think. He was running across the floor, Roc guarding him as he lunged and touched it first, covering the boy’s body with his own.

He hears Roc yell out and there’s a blade through his heart, right above Rex’s head. Jin -- how had he moved so quickly? How had his blade found its target without more than a moment going by -- without Roc clashing against him?

“You’re a mercenary, aren’t you?” Jin’s voice is cold. “Take your death with dignity; and rest knowing you won’t have to see what comes next.”

He heard the sound of the Blade returning to their core as his legs buckled and he fell forward. He tried to make out a sorry to Rex, for trapping him under him like this, but only blood spilled out. Without the chance to have any last words, the world went dark.

--

“Grab the Core Crystal.” Malos gestures towards the grey rock with his chin. “Don’t want Patroka getting mad we didn’t bring it back, now do we?”

Nia frowned, but picked it up as told and stuffed it into her pack. She hadn’t though they would kill Vandham just like that, didn’t think they would just leave Rex under him. Maybe Malos wants to get out of dodge and leave the body and Rex to the salvagers and mercenaries. 

That’s what she told herself to keep moving, even if she barely believed it.

“My Lady…” Dromarch’s voice was soft as they walked back towards the entrance of the ship. “Are you alright?”

“I have a bad feeling, Dromarch.” She frowned at Jin’s back as she followed after. “Really bad.”

They had the woman, they had destroyed the sword that laid with her, they had killed the very man they hired… All of it was leaving a pit in her stomach, but there wasn’t much she could do but move forward.

--

Vandham opened his eyes to blue sky, and wondered if this was what heaven looked like. If it was, he couldn’t help but feel some mistake had been made putting him here. He did what he believed was right, sure, but he was certain money had pitted him against real good folk in the past.

Purgatory was about the best he’d ever thought of for himself -- he was pretty sure his views on Blades alone put him on the Praetor’s shitlist. If that wasn’t a free pass to losing access to heaven, he didn’t know what was.

A bell chimed and he sat up, looking around. In the distance, by a tree, stood a girl. She wore what looked like armour, red and black fabrics and metals covering her entire body. Green lines danced about her armour and the cape on her back… Huh, just like the girl who sat in that coffin.

He stood and made his way towards her as she let out a sigh. “Such a sad sound, isn’t it?”

“Not a happy one, that’s for sure.” He came to stand next to her, rubbing the back of his head. Her eyes were sad as she stared out, sadder than he’d seen on most who looked so young. “...Maybe it’s my death bell, eh?”

“It sounds often, actually.” She frowned. “But this time, maybe that is what it signals.”

Vandham nodded. “So this is heaven, eh?”

“It’s Elysium.” She looked at her feet. “At least, it’s my memory of it.”

He took a deep breath, things clicking. “The Aegis, eh? Shoulda known that rock on your chest meant something.”

She looked at him, a sad smile. “You realized who I was, then. Sorry, it looks like you might be the next on a long list of people dead because of me.”

Vandham shook his head. “No need to say sorry, girl. Risk of death comes with the job, didn’t you know? If anything, I’m more worried about, well, everyone else. I brought good men with me, but I haven’t got a clue if they’ll be enough to protect the salvagers.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, placing her hand to her chest. “...I think we can make sure they’re protected.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “How’s that.”

“I… I can share my lifeforce with you.” She opened her eyes. “It wouldn’t be hard, and you could keep those people safe!”

“Nothing that sounds so good comes without a price.” Vandham placed a hand on his hip. “What would you want in return, lass?”

“I want you to take me to Elysium.”

“A high price to give a stranger…” Vandham hummed, rubbing his chin. “Giving me my life back isn’t quite payment enough, I don’t think.”

“Oh.” She faltered a bit. “What else could I even hope to offer?”

“A name could do it. Wouldn’t be a stranger then.” He stuck out his hand, grinning. “The name’s Vandham.”

“I…” She hesitated before taking it. “I’m Pyra. Pleasure to be working with you, Vandham.”

--

Laying in an abandoned room, Rex struggling to try and free himself from underneath a corpse, Vandham’s eyes snap open.

Chapter 2

Notes:

I ended up writing a second chapter, don't expect much of this often but I Was Thinkin and this happened

“One more loose end to clean up.” Malos looked at the Gormotti. “Nia, kill them.”

“What?!” She jumped a bit. “But Malos, they didn’t do anything wrong! You… you can’t be serious.”

Malos frowned at her. “Maybe they could’ve been spared if it wasn’t for that Vandham acting out, but too bad, he did.”

“Nia.” Jin spoke, voice quiet. “Do what Malos said, we don’t have time for this.”

Nia swallowed hard, and the connection to Dromarch tugged a bit as she looked at him. Neither of them wanted to do this -- no matter how often they killed humans, Nia never got used to it. Never had to directly do it, either. Was this some sort of test? Seeing how far she was willing to go for her saviors?

She swallowed hard and pulled her twin rings free, moving to stand between the people and the other Torna members. “I won’t do it. If your plan goes off without a hitch, it won’t matter if we leave them alive for now, anyway, yeah?”

Malos grunted. “Fine, if you’re going to be that way, I’ll just have to do it myself! Maybe teach you a lesson while I’m at it.”

He threw the coffin to the side and Nia watched it skid to a stop in front of a few salvagers. Malos pulled his sword tonfa free and approached, leaving her with mere seconds to react. She jumped back, rings meeting with the tonfa. His power radiated, even when he used Sever’s weapon instead of any of his own, and it made her nearly freeze. But no. She had to keep going -- had to keep pushing.

“I won’t let you kill them, Malos!”

“We’ll see if you can stop me!”

Their weapons clashed again and Nia grit her teeth as she slid backwards. This was bad -- really bad. She and Dromarch were built for healing, not fighting like this. They were support at best, and they had to face off against Malos?!

She crouched down, ready to spring an attack of her own and--

“Wait!” Rex’s voice made everyone freeze. He’d freed himself from beneath Vandham’s body, eh? Not that it would do him much good, given Malos’s plans. “Wait, Vandham is--!”

A blast of hot air and the coffin is on fire, leaving whatever Rex had to say about the dead man forgotten. Malos turned to look at it and for a second, Nia swore she saw panic in his eyes. Panic about what it meant.

That being followed up with the floor melting and a dead man crawling out? Well, Nia felt like all hell was about to break loose.

--

Vandham felt energy flowing through him as he stood on the deck of the abandoned ship, standing outside of a dreamscape with Pyra. He watched as she regenerated her once destroyed sword and threw it towards him. Without a second thought, he caught it out of the air and faced Malos.

“So you woke up; saved the old man, even!!” Malos laughed, tonfa at the ready. “You never were one to make things easy, were you?”

“And let you get what you want?” Pyra readied herself and Vandham started to feel the ether flowing into his body. “There’s no way I could let that happen, Malos.”

“Hey, I won’t complain! Just makes things more fun .” He lunged and Vandham was quick to meet his blow. 

This wasn’t anything like Roc’s weapons, but he found himself adjusting quickly enough. The power pulsed through his body as their weapons clashed over and over in the air. Malos was good at this, but he could tell this wasn’t his usual weapon, either.

“Let’s see what you can do!” Vandham struck again, glancing to the side only long enough to see Nia carting Rex and the other salvagers towards safety. Good -- he’d had a good feeling about this girl for a reason!

“No more talking, just fighting!” Malos surged forward and Vandham lost his footing, stumbling backwards. Where had that burst of power come from?

Malos brought his tonfa down towards his head and Vandham prepared to move when a burst of fire filled the air and slammed into the man. Pyra seemed just as caught off guard as him -- where had that come from, then? None of his men had come equipped with a fire-based blade.

“Gramps!” A Titan came into view as Rex yelled. “How’d you get here?!”

 

--

 

When Vandham and Pyra woke up, they found themselves in a clearing, probably in Gormott, if Vandham had to guess. He pulled the girl to her feet after a moment of aching, thanking his lucky stars that Titan showed up and saved them. If Cole was here, he’d probably call it a Deux Ex Machina.

“You feelin’ alright, Pyra?”

She nodded. “A bit light-headed after that, but I should be alright.”

“Good.” He ruffled her hair and looked around. “We should be findin’ the others, then. Rex and Nia, along with that Blade of hers, hopped on too, didn’t they?”

Pyra hummed, closing her eyes. “I think I can feel someone… this way!” She pointed. “A Titan in pain and a human.”

Vandham nodded. “Let’s get goin’, then!” He started off, the Aegis following after him.

He moved quickly, jumping down tangles of nature and climbing as needed. Soon enough, they came upon Rex and what had to be a dying Titan. His heart ached as he listened to Rex scream and beg for him not to die -- he’d called him Gramps for a reason, after all.

He approached and pulled Rex back as the Titan began to dissolve into ether -- returned to the base elements of their world. Rex screamed and all Vandham could do was watch as a box fell to the ground and broke open.

And then, a larval Titan popped up in the grass.

“Excuse me.” His voice was youthful compared to that of the old Titan from before. “Do you happen to know where I am?”

“G-Gramps!” Rex shuffled forward and picked up the Titan. “I can’t believe it! You’re alive!”

“Gramps?” He tilted his head. “I apologize, but I think you have me mistaken for someone else. I’m Azurda, a new Titan.”

“What…?”

“He… doesn’t remember you, I’m sorry.” Pyra’s voice was soft. “I did what I could, but…”

Rex wiped at his tears and pulled the tiny Azurda in his arms. “It’s okay… I’m just happy to have him back, I…”

Vandham ruffled his hair and picked up the Core Crystal from the ground as Azurda freed himself. Must’ve been something the old Titan would have wanted Rex to have, then?

“Here.” Vandham handed it to Rex. “I think he’d want you to have this.”

Azurda had settled into Rex’s helmet. “That seems familiar… Makes me feel hopeful.”

Rex swallowed and took it. “Should I… try and awaken it.”

Vandham nodded. “We’re right here with ya, kid. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be sure to patch you right up.”

Rex closed his eyes and held it close, starting to resonate. A being appeared, a girl with long dark hair and a fox mask on the back of her head. She smiled at Rex, holding out her hand.

“You must be my Driver, then. I’m Kasandra, it’s nice to meet you!”

Chapter 3

Notes:

Got some muse for a third chapter and Pyra-Rex decided they are bffs in this verse already so that's fun!

“Vandham, have you noticed how, er, unlucky we’ve been?” Pyra whispered, just loudly enough that only the Urayan could hear her. “Ever since Rex awoke Kasandra things have been…”

Vandham thought back on all that’s happened recently and shuddered a bit. They’d survived Malos only to end up getting thrown about here on Gormott. Trees breaking out from under them, controlled fires Pyra suddenly raging almost uncontrollably… Not to mention the lack of Nia and her Blade.

He looked over and weighed their options. Not like they could do much about Kasandra without leaving Rex, and there was no way in hell Vandham was gonna do that . He decided all they could do was hope their luck improved from here -- no way he could leave Rex and Azurda to deal with the bad luck on their own.

“It’ll be fine.” He ruffled Pyra’s hair a bit. “C’mon, then. We should look for town if we can’t find Nia soon.”

Pyra nodded, worry flitting behind her eyes, but she didn’t argue. Instead, they moved forward again, just hoping all the bad luck would finally stop and they’d have a chance to actually relax .

Well, maybe Relax wasn’t the right word, seeing as they were coming up on quite a nasty Brog. Vandham braced himself… and that’s when he saw water -- not regular water, but that of a Blade. Aha, they must’ve found their way to Nia!

He rushed forward, Pyra’s blade in hand, and prepared to take care of this one way or another.

 

--

“Thanks for that, yeah.” Nia rubbed the back of her head as they watched the remnants of the Brog vanish. “Guess I should pay you back for that.”

“Indeed.” Dromarch, her Blade, bowed his head in their direction. “I believe we can start by returning the gentleman’s possession, my lady.”

“Oh, yeah.” Vandham watched Nia reach into her pack and pull out a core crystal… Roc’s if he had to take a guess.

She passed it to him and he looked it over. It was grey, as to be expected. Roc would need time before they could be summoned again, before Vandham could see his old friend. Not that his old friend would even remember him.

“Dammit.” He mumbled to himself. “Failed you quite a bit, didn’t I?”

Pyra blinked a few times. “May I see that, Vandham?”

Vandham nodded, handing it over to her. “Careful there, Roc and I were together for years. Don’t want to see anything happen to their crystal.”

“Of course.” She nodded, and then placed it against what remained of her own core.

Flashes of light filled the area, golden and green all at once -- nothing like the reds Pyra wore, and yet they seemed to fit her. In an odd way, it was as if it came from somewhere deep within her, but Vandham supposed he could just be tricking himself. Tricking himself as the crystal came back to life.

Roc appeared from within and Vandham couldn’t believe his eyes. Much less believe his ears when Roc spoke.

“Vandham! What happened? Everything went so dark there… I can’t remember a thing after you were attacked!”

“I… was able to do a bit more. Blades are more my forte than Titans.” Pyra mumbled, rubbing her arm as Vandham looked over his original Blade in shock. “I don’t think there’s any way to remember that time in the core crystal, though.”

“That’s… plenty fine.” Vandham sucked back some tears. “Roc! I was afraid all our years together had been lost!”

“I won’t go down that easily!” Roc crowed, holding their head up pridefully. “You should know that by now, Vandham!”

Vandham laughed a bit, wiping away the few tears that did spill. “Yeah, I suppose I should.”

 

--

Rex felt a bit sick to his stomach as Nia led the group towards Torigoth. Felt even worse when he had a chance to settle down and really think. Vandham’s Blade could remember him… Rex should feel happy about that, as happy as could be…

But it stung, just a bit, knowing Gramps didn’t remember him -- wouldn’t remember him. He stared at the fire as Nia snuggled down for sleep in Dromarch’s fur, watched the embers dance as Kasandra and Roc leaned against each other and Vandham went searching for more wood.

He glanced at Pyra and his throat tightened. He wanted to say something, anything, to her… But what could he say? Thank you for saving Gramps, even though you couldn’t save his memories? Can all Blades do that, or is it an Aegis thing only?

He was still trying to find something to say when Pyra noticed him looking and waved a bit. “Seems like you’re wide awake, too.”

“Ah, yeah.” He nodded, looking back to the fire. “A lot on my mind, you know.”

Pyra nodded. “I could say the same… I’m still really sorry, for not being able to do more for Azurda. I tried so hard, but he was so far gone that all I could do was revert him to a younger state.”

“It’s… it’s okay. I’m not gonna lie and say it doesn’t sting a bit since Roc can remember Vandham, but…” He looked over to where he’d laid his helmet, Gramps fast asleep inside it. “Better to have a chance for new memories with him than no more.”

Pyra put a hand on his shoulder as she moved a bit closer. “That’s… a wonderful way to think of it, Rex. If I can do… anything to make up for not being able to do more, please--”

“No need for that.” Rex shook his head. “Might sting, but not your fault you couldn’t do more, Pyra. I’m just a bit greedy, is all…”

Pyra frowned, furrowing her brow and looking him over. “You, greedy?”

“Been told that a lot back at the Trade Guild, yeah.” Rex nodded. “Guess it’s a side effect of being a salvager. Just didn’t expect it to extend into something like this.”

“It’s not greedy to want him to remember you, Rex.” Pyra replied, her voice gentle. “You’re… young. It’s normal to want someone who understands you and is so important to you to stay.”

Her voice broke and she stared off, and Rex wondered what she was thinking about. Maybe someone she had lost before ending up asleep like that? He didn’t know, but it was his turn to try and show some kindness to her.

He put a hand over hers and gave it a small squeeze. “Well, it’s a good thing you have me and Vandham now, don’t you think? We can… try and understand each other, be there for each other.”

Pyra blinked a few times and looked at their hands before smiling. “That… sounds great. I look forward to it, Rex!”